Mario Tarradell

12:29 PM CDT on Thursday, July 20, 2006

By MARIO TARRADELL / The Dallas Morning News

Female singers and songwriters are not plentiful in Texas' male-dominated country and roots music scene. On one hand, there are Pat Green, Jack Ingram, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Robert Earl Keen and Bruce Robison, and on the other, there are the Dixie Chicks and Trish Murphy.

Two years ago, Wimberley's Bonnie Bishop stomped onto the map with two CDs showcasing her brand of roadhouse R&B, folk-infused country and blues. Now we have two more women ready to add a feminine touch to Lone Star music: Dallas' B'Ann and Austin's Christina Roberts .

Both have debut discs, B'Ann's No Place Like Home and Ms. Roberts' Our Secret Is Good. And to make things more interesting, the two artists are on opposite ends of the stylistic spectrum.

Hometown country girl B'Ann (nee B'Ann Grant) themed her promising album around songs penned by local unsung songwriters such as Plano's Kevin Bounds, Dallas' Tim Cooper and Larry Massey and Denton's Troy Powers. Recorded last year at Cooper Sound in Dallas, No Place Like Home boasts a clean, uncluttered sound brimming with dobro, fiddle and steel guitar as well as electric guitar, bass, drums and keyboards.

Vocally, she's rich and soulful with a tone that sits somewhere between Patsy Cline and Patty Loveless. She's old-timey with a honky-tonk flair on "I'm Through Being Blue," sassy on the traditional shuffle "Nothin' Like You" and melancholy on the country ballad "What Are You Doing on My Mind."

Mostly there's honesty and heart running through the dozen tracks. To buy the album, go to www.banncountry.com.

Ms. Roberts, a former communications aide for President Bush, wrote and recorded Our Secret Is Good in Austin and Houston. She's a Houston native who now resides in Austin. Her muse is folkie with a slight rock edge. She picks up the tempo on "Man of No Promises" and then tries her solo piano technique on the sparse "Pink With Pearls." She wrote all her songs and co-produced the entire CD.

Her timbre warms up the room with its huskiness. She sounds influenced by the vocal styling of Carrie Newcomer, Rosanne Cash and Annie Lennox. At times the 10 songs on Secret tend to have too much of a similar vibe, so she needs to work on varying the sonic textures of her songwriting. But Ms. Roberts sure has potential, especially on memorable tunes such as "The Magic Holds" and "Austin, Mother Me."

If you're in Austin, catch Ms. Roberts live Monday or July 31 at 8:30 p.m. at Momo's. For copies of Our Secret Is Good, head over to www.cdbaby.com or www.amazon.com.

E-mail mtarradell@dallasnews.com